What is CERN?

Did you ever hear about the Large Hadron Collider or LHC in Switzerland which was about to end the world when launched in 2008? Well, the LHC did not end the world nor did it create a black hole! But yes, it certainly created a lot of buzz into the physics universes. It discovered the ultimate particle, the God Particle. Read more to find about the mysteries of CERN, their projects, accelerators, LHC, black hole, and the God particle.

European Council for Nuclear Research (French Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) is the world’s largest hub of renowned physicists and scientists studying the fundamentals of particles. 

It was set up on the 29th of September 1954 in Switzerland. It is popularly known for its particle accelerators and similar projects. LHC earned all the media attention in 2012 for the incredible discovery of the God particle.

This Centre uses the most complex scientific instruments to get to know the constituents of matter and subatomic particles. In this blog, we have brought together the mission, goals, and spectacular facts about CERN.

Also Read: Courses After BSc Physics

Mission of CERN

A collaboration of physicists that works intensively to understand the science behind the universe and how it works. It is a facility for researchers to advance their knowledge.

The mission of this international Centre is to accomplish the following goals:

• Setting up particle accelerator of facilities to enable researchers to find the universal phenomenon
• To perform best and world-class research in physics
• To bring together the people from all over the world and work on science and technology

Besides these main goals, CERN is also concerned about being the politically neutral voice for the scientific community and investing in fundamental research. It focuses on building relations with businesses to transfer its knowledge for implementation. It also provides hands-on training to the youngest generation of scientists and engineers.

Can CERN Create a Black Hole?

Absolutely not! The large hadron collider will not generate any black holes in the cosmological sense. Some theories support the fact that quantum black holes can be created. However, such an event is completely safe and shall only promote understanding of the universe in a better way.

What is CERN technology?

The technology used at this immense research Centre include the following:

The Accelerators

• The antiproton decelerated
• large hadron collider
• high luminosity LHC

Theories

• Antimatter
• Dark matter
• The early universe
• The Higgs boson 
• The standard model

Engineering

• Accelerating: radio frequency cavities
• Circulating: ultrahigh vacuum
• Cooling: cryogenic systems
• Powering: energy at CERN
• Steering and focusing: magnets and superconductivity

Computing

• CERN data centre
• CERN open lab
• Open source for open science
• Birth of the World Wide Web
• Worldwide LHC computing grid

Experiments

• ALICE
• ATLAS
• CMS
• LHCb

The Large Hadron Collider

LHC or famously known as the large Hadron collider Is the most powerful and complex machine of all time. It is the largest particle accelerator that was first started up on 10th of September 2008. 

The accelerator has a 27 km ring of superconducting magnets and several accelerating structures to enhance the particle energy along with it. LHC has four specific locations where the beams collide around the accelerator ring namely- ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHC.

CERN grabbed the whole world’s attention when subatomic particles collided together at the speed of light using the Large Hadron Collider.

What is God Particle Theory?

The God particle or Higgs boson was detected in 2012 by the LHC. This particle is the elementary particle that provides mass to electrons and protons. This particle validates The Standard Model in particle physics theory.

Originally it was called the Higgs by the physicist Leon Lederman and also as a “Goddamn particle”. The God particle term was coined sarcastically to emphasise the difficulty in detecting it.

The Higgs boson particle is important since it confirms the presence of the Higgs field, which is an invisible energy field present throughout the universe that brings in the mass of other particles. 

Is God Particle Dangerous?

There are many sayings and beliefs around the God particle and its nature. Some even believe that God particle will eventually destroy the universe. Experts say that the destruction is many years away, Somewhere around 10 octodecillion years and 10 quinquadragintillion years. 

Besides accelerators, detectors, and computing technologies, CERN has developed ultra-high vacuum and cooling mechanisms. It is an expert in tracking particles, monitoring the radiation, and studying superconductivity in them.

The studies and technologies have made a very deep and positive impact on human lives. Society welcomes innovations with gratitude. You might have understood the main purpose of CERN and the technologies used for universe studies. We hope this blog was helpful to you. For more such informative content, follow Leverage Edu.